IRVINE – The nonprofit JAMS Foundation is proud to announce the nine Fellows who make up the 2018 class of the Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship program.
The Fellowship program, named to honor the contributions of JAMS neutral Hon. Daniel Weinstein (Ret.), provides opportunities for ADR professionals from around the world to learn more about dispute resolution in the United States. With the support and guidance of the JAMS Foundation and seasoned JAMS panelists, Weinstein JAMS Fellows pursue projects of their own design that advance ADR practices in their home countries. Judge Weinstein and the JAMS Foundation have a 20 year partnership agreement to provide financial support for the program.
When we started this program ten years ago, we dreamed about what it could be. It has far surpassed our expectations and has now produced over 100 Fellows in more than 70 countries internationally. We are delighted to welcome this tenth class of International Fellows and look forward to advancing their skills and thereby advancing ADR practices around the world.
-Hon. Daniel Weinstein (Ret.)
We thank Judge Weinstein and many of our neutrals for their continued generosity and support for this program. Our Weinstein JAMS Fellows have unique backgrounds and impressive ADR experiences that will allow for engaging discussions and for all of us to learn from one another.
-Chris Poole, JAMS President and CEO
These Fellows play a central role in expanding the awareness and acceptance of ADR globally. This vibrant international community promotes a commitment to resolving conflict peacefully and we are honored to have them be a part of the JAMS network.
-David Brandon, Managing Director of the JAMS Foundation
The nine Weinstein JAMS Fellows have already begun arriving in the U.S. to begin their fellowships, which will last between one and four months, and each will be affiliated with a JAMS Resolution Center. In addition, Fellows will have other commitments, including participation in university-based dispute resolution training programs. The following individuals have been selected to participate in the 2018 Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship program.
Fidana Alieva (Kyrgyz Republic) – Ms. Alieva is the founder and general director of the Center for Mediation and Negotiation in Bishkek, specializing in the resolution of commercial and labor disputes, negotiation, conflict consulting and training. She served as a member of the second working group on the country’s draft mediation law, adopted in 2017. As part of her Fellowship, Ms. Alieva intends to strengthen her mediation and negotiation skills, especially regarding commercial and labor disputes. She further plans to work with experts in the international mediation community to expand her understanding of best practices applicable to the development of mediation in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Anvar Aslanov (Uzbekistan) – Mr. Aslanov is a lawyer with experience in transnational business and international law. He received an LL.M. (Master of Laws) from University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law as an Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellow, and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at McGeorge School of Law, specializing in trans-boundary water resources law, with an emphasis on mediation and the non-navigational uses of international waterways. During his Fellowship, he hopes to improve his mediation skills by observing real-world mediations and attending trainings and other workshops to strengthen his practical understanding of dispute resolution processes. Upon his return to Uzbekistan, Mr. Aslanov aims to develop dispute resolution systems regarding the regulation of water resources to improve stability and security throughout the Central Asia region.
Archil Chochia (Estonia/Georgia) – Mr. Chochia is a researcher and lecturer at Tallinn Law School, where he also serves as coordinator of the doctoral school in economics and innovation. He is a founder of the Academy for Peace and Development, a leading non-profit organization established to provide conflict resolution training, negotiation, and peace-building for young people in Georgia. As part of his Fellowship, Mr. Chochia intends to expand his knowledge of ADR through participation in mediation training courses and observation of mediations at JAMS. He plans to establish a research center at Tallinn Law School to promote ADR research and development in Estonia.
Georges Feghali (Lebanon) – Mr. Feghali is a senior lawyer and mediator at his office in Beirut and further serves as a World Bank and United Nations Regional mediator for the Middle East and North Africa regions. Mr. Feghali frequently mediates civil and commercial disputes relating to family, workplace, insurance, construction and corporate law. He also teaches mediation at Saint Joseph University and the Beirut Bar Association. During his Fellowship, he seeks to increase his knowledge of the latest innovations in mediation styles and techniques while engaging in professional exchange with senior mediators and experts in the field. Upon his return, he hopes to raise mediation awareness in Lebanon and other Arab and Gulf countries.
Anjezë Gojani (Kosovo) – Ms. Gojani is a lawyer with a background in international and European business law. She is currently engaged as a legal advisor to the Ministry of Justice and an external advisor to the Ministry of Health regarding a national health insurance fund. She previously served as the secretary general of the Permanent Tribunal of Arbitration to develop institutional arbitration practices in Kosovo. While in the U.S., Ms. Gojani will study best practices from arbitral institutions, practitioners and academics to further her theoretical and practical understanding of investment arbitration and investment treaties. She further hopes to enhance her knowledge of the methods used by arbitral institutions to raise public and private sector ADR awareness in support of a comprehensive rule of law strategy in Kosovo.
Anastase Nabahire (Rwanda) – Mr. Nabahire is a lawyer and coordinator of the Justice Sector Secretariat, responsible for managing relations with private and public stakeholders working in the fields of law, reconciliation, and law and order, to establish court-referred and private mediation in Rwanda. As a member of one of the first graduating classes of Rwanda’s newly established law school post-genocide, Mr. Nabahire oversaw a community service program to reduce prison sentences for perpetrators and founded the primary organization in the country that continues to coordinate services to genocide survivors. During his Fellowship, he intends to study restorative justice practices in the U.S. while enhancing his ADR knowledge to advance the professionalization of mediation in Rwanda.
Harbey Peña Sandoval (Colombia) – Mr. Peña Sandoval is the ADR and access to justice advisor of the National Planning Department in Bogota. As ADR advisor, he is responsible for the design and development of a national ADR project to strengthen and promote dispute resolution services in rural post-conflict areas, part of the implementation of the final agreement to end armed conflict and build a stable and lasting peace between the government and rebel forces (FARC). While in the U.S., he intends to engage with lawyers, judges and ADR stakeholders to collect lessons learned from the field regarding the resolution of intractable disputes for application to the Colombian post-conflict ADR project.
Nudrat Ejaz Piracha (Pakistan) – Ms. Piracha is a lawyer, and Fulbright Scholar pursuing a doctoral degree in investment arbitration from The George Washington University Law School. She is a solicitor advocate in the U.K. and advocate of the High Court in Pakistan, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and member of Arbitral Women. She has served as an advocate in international commercial arbitrations and international construction and investment disputes before the ICC, ICSID, SCC and ad hoc tribunals. Upon her return to Pakistan, Ms. Piracha aims to promote non-violent conflict resolution through education, training, mediation and advocacy. During her Fellowship, she plans to undertake an advanced study of negotiation, mediation and ADR in the U.S. while strengthening her skills in cross-cultural and cross-border dispute resolution.
Mehnaz Siddiqui (Bangladesh) – Ms. Siddiqui is a senior assistant judge in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in Dhaka. She received an LL.M. in human rights law from the University of Dhaka and pursued a course of study in international labor and employment, social justice and international human rights law at American University Washington College of Law as a Fulbright-sponsored Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow. While in the U.S., Ms. Siddiqui intends to study the integration of ADR processes within the judicial system, especially regarding investment dispute settlements and commercial arbitration. Upon her return, she intends to promote the harmonization of commercial arbitration processes and the reduction of case backlog in the courts to attract international investment in Bangladesh.
About the JAMS Foundation (www.jamsfoundation.org)
The nonprofit JAMS Foundation is the largest private provider of ADR-related grants in the world. The Foundation was established in 2002 by JAMS, the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution services worldwide, and is funded by JAMS mediators, arbitrators and employee associates who contribute a percentage of their income. The JAMS Foundation has provided more than $8 million in grant funding since its inception. Founded in 1979, JAMS and its nearly 350 panelists are responsible for resolving thousands of the world’s most important cases.
